France votes to ban ‘forever chemicals,’ exempting frying pans

PARIS — The French National Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a bill aimed at restricting the manufacture and sale of products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.” The MPs, backed by the government, voted to exclude kitchen utensils from the scope of the text.

Thanks to an intense lobbying push, manufacturers of frying pans and saucepans — including the SEB group, which owns Tefal — are exempt from this ban under the proposed law penned by French Green MPs.

Majority groups initially tried to delay the ban on kitchen utensils until 2030 — a timetable refused by the French Green MPs who instead suggested an exemption until 2026.

This counter-offer was rejected by the majority and the government — represented by French Industry Minister Roland Lescure — which preferred to simply delete the paragraph concerning these products.

After defending the SEB group, which “makes a positive contribution to the balance of trade and contributes to a more sustainable economy,” the minister was accused by the ecologists of being “subservient to the frying pan lobby.”

"I regret that one industry's coarse lobbying found an echo with [a] majority [of] right-wing and far-right MPs," Nicolas Thierry, the Green MP who put forward the bill, said after the vote.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Wednesday had indicated that the issue should be dealt with "at European level," where it will be discussed as part of the REACH regulation.

Victor Goury-Laffont contributed reporting.